Softball 5/8/2008 4:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

Bethune-Cookman Tops Morgan State, 4-3

Anush Mooradian finished 0-for-2, but drove in a team-high two RBIs, including the game winner ? a one-out sacrifice fly to right field to lead Bethune-Cookman to a 4-3 victory over Morgan State in the opening round of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference softball tournament at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.

With the game tied at three all heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, Holly Bussey drew a leadoff walk off of Morgan State’s Megan Johnson. After several position changes, Carolynn Howard came in from right field to pitch. Christina Trimble singled through the left side and advance to second on the throw, thus setting the stage for Mooradian with runners on second and third.

“The girls played hard, they [Bethune-Cookman] just made one more play than us,” said Morgan State head coach Jeff Bozier. “Megan [Johnson] pitched a good game, but just couldn’t pull it out for us.”

Morgan State (14-20), which fell behind 2-0 after two innings, took the lead by scoring three runs in the top of the third. Ashley Vasquez doubled to right center to score two runs and even the game at two runs each. Tamara Griffin then followed with a double to left field to score Vasquez for the 3-2 lead.

That lead would hold up until the fifth inning when the Wildcats (20-34) got a run on the bat of none other than Mooradian, who tied the score at 3-3 with yet another sacrifice fly to right field.

Bethune-Cookman took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a RBI single by Bussey to score Ashton Hinds and took a 2-0 advantage on a sacrifice fly by Brandi Holley to center field.

Allison Garcia earned the win for the Wildcats and improved to 16-18. Johnson dropped to 6-4 on the season and finished with a game-high three strikeouts for Morgan State.

The Lady Bears were led by Porsche Boddicker, who finished 2-for-3 with a run, Karlana Ingram (2-for-2) and Vasquez, who recorded one hit on three at bats and drove in a team-high two RBIs.

Along with the performance by Mooradian, Bethune-Cookman was led by Trimble’s 2-for-2 outing and Bussey, who went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and two walks.

Bethune-Cookman, the top seed in the league’s South Division will face the winner of Howard and Florida A&M later on this evening at 7 p.m., while Morgan State drops to the loser’s bracket and will play Hampton, the No. 1 seed from the North at 4:30 p.m.